Six years ago, upon joining the bar, I raised my hand and swore to uphold and defend the Constitution. I distinctly remember the deep sense of pride I felt two years later as I carried out that pledge by working as an election protection volunteer on Election Day. Elections provide attorneys with an opportunity to discharge a responsibility that is unique to our profession. Although it can be hard to remember while slogging through a nasty discovery dispute or a tricky transactional matter, attorneys have a special role in our country’s national fabric: upholding and defending the Constitution. Regardless of your political affiliation, this duty, as much a privilege as it is an obligation, has special significance during elections.
Whether you find it exhilarating, exasperating or tedious, it is presidential election season again. Although it can be lost among the punditry, fundraisers and nonstop political advertisements, the single most important thing in an election is the actual voting. The right to vote also called “the franchise” is a fundamental right protected by the Constitution. From the earliest days of our nation’s history, the franchise has been understood as an essential ingredient to a healthy, functioning democracy. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson said that “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” James Madison later explained that “the right of suffrage is a fundamental article in Republican constitutions.”
